@cobalt-jade 

I love Pauline Baynes’ illustrations of the underworld in Narnia. They showed considerable detail in both the color and black and white editions of the books. Others have attempted to show that part of the book, The Silver Chair, with varying success.  The BBC television production, which was another interpretation, was very limited in what they could depict of that part of the book. Perhaps it wasn’t the best, but you could give them credit for trying. I thought the sets were kind of interesting and oddly unique in spite of the limited budget.  They reminded me of the classic Dr. Who serial Underworld, which featured Tom Baker as the Doctor!  He was just as good there as he was playing Puddleglum.  🙂

Very interesting and thoughtful article, @cobalt-jade!

One thing, though — the map you've included at the start is definitely not by Pauline Baynes and I don't think it has ever been included in any published version of the book itself. I've never seen it before and I'm guessing it may be from a Narnia commentary by some other author and illustrator. Wherever it's from, it wasn't produced during Lewis's lifetime and therefore really can't be taken as "canon" when it comes to Narnia's underground geography.

Pauline Baynes's map is this one, which is included in the edition of The Silver Chair that I currently have (early 1970s Puffin paperback) and has been in all the other copies I've known. She doesn't attempt to show anything of the Underland or Bism.

I'd never stopped to think about Puddleglum's comment on "the central fires of the Earth breaking out to make a new volcano", and its implications and inconsistencies when we learn about the Land of Bism. But as Bism is never mentioned anywhere else in the Chronicles, perhaps ordinary, surface-dwelling Narnians don't know anything about it? Perhaps there is a fiery molten core to the Narnian world, deeper down than Bism, but most Narnians, having never seen or heard of Bism, don't know that there's also an inhabited land down there and so they assume there's nothing but magma? It's just one of the many things that Lewis most likely didn't plan out fully himself (and probably never intended to), so we can't do anything but speculate and guess.

I don't think I've ever been surprised, though, at the revelation that there are funerals in Narnia. After all, why not? It's largely a medieval European style society, and there were definitely funerals in medieval Europe (if you want a laugh, by the way, look up what happened at William the Conqueror's funeral in 1087). And Narnia has a currency-based economy — we learn in VDT that the coins are called "Lions" and "Trees" — so it stands to reason that those involved in conducting a funeral would get paid for their services. I doubt Lewis was thinking much of the details of what "funeral expenses" in Narnia would entail, though. I'm guessing he was just wanting to give Puddleglum another typical "know the worst and then put the best face on it" comment for us to laugh at!  

 They reminded me of the classic Dr. Who serial Underworld, which featured Tom Baker as the Doctor!  He was just as good there as he was playing Puddleglum.

IMO no one can ever top Tom Baker's Puddleglum!

Posted by: @courtenay

One thing, though — the map you've included at the start is definitely not by Pauline Baynes and I don't think it has ever been included in any published version of the book itself. I've never seen it before and I'm guessing it may be from a Narnia commentary by some other author and illustrator. Wherever it's from, it wasn't produced during Lewis's lifetime and therefore really can't be taken as "canon" when it comes to Narnia's underground geography.

It is indeed from a Narnia commentary by some other author and illustrator. I have seen it, I even think I might own it, but I haven't got it here and haven't looked at it it for years. So I don't remember which author and illustrator.

It's a nice enough map, but not in Pauline Baynes' style at all, I'd say.

I don’t know if anyone else here had The Silver Chair read to them as a child. In elementary school my fifth grade teacher read the book to us. I especially remember the part about the Underworld and how Jill, Eustace, and Puddleglum slid into it from outside the giants’ castle. I had always pictured it as being a dark gloomy place and rather creepy.  The Silver Chair was always one of my favorite Narnia books because of its dark atmosphere, I liked the characters, who were so well portrayed by my elementary school teacher, who had a talent for storytelling. The book had many scenes which were unforgettable, which is why I remember it over decades. The flooding of the underground kingdom near the end of the story could almost give you claustrophobia, but then there was great relief in getting back into Narnia. I don’t know if teachers in elementary schools still read books aloud to their students (it may be considered old fashioned now), but it helped me to become interested in Narnia for decades. 🙂